19

A PROPOSAL

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Evelyn held her daughter tightly in her arms for the last time before she would be leaving with Katniss, Gale, Boggs and the rest of the team that they had assembled for the mission. The District 11 girl even debated if saying goodbye to Aeliana or Finnick was a good idea. She just got them back and her wounds were finally on the path of healing thanks to the advanced medicine but she already had to leave. Deep down, the Miracle woman knew that if the mission had gone wrong and she never said goodbye, she would never forgive herself.

"Mommy will be right back, Sunshine," she whispered in her ear, caressing her hair gently in her hand and tucking it behind her ears. Eve felt her little face pushed further into her shoulder to avoid saying goodbye, "Lina, you have to let go at some point."

"But you just got back," she cried loudly in her ear, finally looking at her mother's watery onyx eyes with her own blue ones that had the same glassy look to them, "Why do you always leave me?"

"I don't want to, Sunshine," Evelyn almost sobbed at her; trying to keep it together but finding it difficult as she looked to her distraught child that wept in her arms.

"Lina," both girls turned to see Jaime extending her arms out for him to say goodbye as well considering he was joining the team on the mission. Aeliana was hesitant but jumped from her mother's arms and to the ground, hugging her uncle's legs tightly. Jaime met his sister's eyes and motioned for her to leave before Aeliana noticed.

She nodded sadly and left the room to see Finnick already waiting behind the door for her, "You didn't think that you could leave without saying goodbye, right?"

Evelyn didn't reply but instead wrapped her arms around his body and buried her head in the crook of her neck as her daughter had just done to her. "I'm sorry about those six years, Finn. I know that you said that it doesn't bother you, but it bothers me. I just wanted us to be a family. But as soon as we are, I'm going out to Districts that had just been bombed. I'm such a bad mother."

"Don't ever say that," he held her face in his hands, looking at the tears brimming in her eyes and wetting her eyelashes, "Everything that you have done has been for Lina and you aren't going to stop until she can have a future where she doesn't have to sleep with one eye open. You have done so much for her and now you are doing this for us as a family. Because that's what we are. A family."

Evelyn ran her thumb over his cheek before pulling him in for a kiss, their lips slowly moving against each other with a rhythm that only they knew the symphony too. He could taste the salt of her tears but he didn't care. This wasn't a goodbye kiss, it never would be.

Finnick debated against pulling apart but he had something he wanted to say. When he did, he faced her confused expression but didn't move an inch, still holding her hips with one hand and the back of her head in his other, "Marry me."

Evelyn's lips parted and she truly had no idea what to say. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Finnick at her side, but now that he had asked her to make it official, she was lost for words. "You don't have to answer right now," his frown slipped ever so slightly but he tried to look positively at her yet she could feel his heartbreaking.

"How about I give you an answer when I get back. When I can hold you in my arms for the whole night and not have to worry about leaving you?" she asked slowly, waiting for his head to nod with his blonde hair slipping down his face before giving him a final kiss, "I'll tell you when we see each other again, Finn."

The door opened behind them as Jaime stepped out, tears in his eyes after saying goodbye to his niece. Through the open door that soon fell shut, Evelyn caught the glimpse of her daughter sat on her bed, hugging the pillow that Evelyn would sleep on every night and crying. It broke her heart.

"I love you, Finnick Odair," she pecked his lips once more and walked away, not wanting him to see the look on her face. The one that knew that she would soon be his wife.

"I love you more, Evelyn Miracle," he shouted at her from down the hallway, making her chuckle ever so lightly yet they didn't stop walking.

"What are you grinning at?" Jaime asked her, his eyes switching between her blushed cheeks and the rows upon rows of ammunition and explosives that they strolled through to get to the aircraft.

"Nothin'," she chuckled, though he sent her a glance, "Seriously, it isn't anything that involves you."

He put his hands up defensively, "Alright, alright. I'm just looking out for my little sister."

Evelyn stopped in her tracks, Jaime turning and halting with her. Her hazel eyes scanned his uniform which was just standard black armour with a gun hanging around his back and two pistols on either hip at his belt, "Why are you doing this? I mean joining me and Katniss when you could stay behind? You don't have the experience that we do."

"I don't want you on the frontlines if I'm not at your side," he offered his hand out to her, dragging her up to the craft with his arm now loosely over her shoulder, "Twice. Two times I have had to watch your fight for your life without being able to help. I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again. I can't lose you, not after losing everyone else."

"We haven't talked about it yet," she whispered, not meeting his worried eyes that watched her face contort with her thoughts changing."

He nodded his head, "We should. How about when we get back?"

"It's a plan," she nudged him to the side playfully and jumped up onto the rear hatch of the helicarrier to see several people already waiting for them, she recognised Katniss, Gale and Boggs but the others were complete and utter strangers to both Miracle siblings.

"Evelyn Miracle, it's a pleasure," the blond girl offered her hand respectfully to the victor which she shook with her gloved hand, "And you too Jaime, we heard about how you saved several families during the riots in 11. I am Cressida, this is Castor, Messalla and Pollux."

Both siblings shook the hands of the other team members and greeted them with quietly. Though the last man, Pollux, only shook their hands and nodded their way with a bright smile on his face, never once opening his mouth to talk.

"Let's get locked in," Boggs commanded and stepped to the front of the craft as both siblings took a seat opposite each other with Evelyn next to Gale and her brother beside Cressida.

"So, you're all from the Capitol?" Katniss asked Pollux who buckled in next to her, "Plutarch got you out?"

"Don't expect much chitchat from him," Cressida shouted over to Katniss, allowing Evelyn to notice that half of her blonde hair had been shaved down to her scalp to show a green tattoo on her head in the shape of ivy and vines, "The Capitol cut his tongue out years ago and no, it wasn't any sort of rescue if that's what you mean. We all fled on our own. For this, for you."

Katniss shared a glance with Evelyn, both girls staying to themselves for the majority of the ride to District 8 and only contributed to the conversation when they were included by the others. The only thing circling her mind were Finnick's words to her, ones that could change her life for the good.

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Arriving in District 8 reminded Evelyn solely of her own District that she could only guess was in ruins with mass graves surrounding homes, nothing but chaos and destruction. And District 8 was no exception; smoke filled the air in thick whisps around burned out buildings that still had orange embers to show that they were still hot, the District was rubble.

The rear hatch opened up once more, letting the smoke fill the air and making the District 11 victor cover her face with a mask that only covered her mouth and nose. Jaime kept his word, never once leaving her side.

"On your feet fast," Boggs called out to the others and stepped closer to the rear hatch with his hand on the roof of the helicarrier to steady him, "In and out."

As soon as the tires touched the ground, the group were running out and crouching on the ground, protecting their faces from the dust and ash that blew up around them as the aircraft took off once more to leave them in the District, "Move out!"

The team ran towards an industrial building to see a woman waiting for them, a bandanna around her neck and two soldiers behind her, but they looked more like children to Evelyn.

"So you're alive then," the woman smirked at Katniss though the smile was fake and full of despair over the loss of her home and many lives, "We weren't so sure."

"Katniss, Commander Paylor from District 8," Boggs introduced the two, noticing how the Commander's eyes fell on Evelyn first, "This is Evelyn Miracle, District 11."

"We know who she is," the woman almost snarled towards the victor who looked at her as if she had completely expected the reaction. In the final moments of the 68th Hunger Games, Evelyn had been the one to finish off the District 8 tribute in a brutal way which earned backlash for the new victor on her Victory Tour not long after, a riot breaking out and killing 7 people.

Evelyn looked away from her watching gaze as Boggs spoke up once more towards Paylor, "Katniss has been recovering but she insisted on coming out to see some of your wounded."

"Well," the woman turned and lead them towards the building. Evelyn looked at her face just before and noticed that she wasn't as old as she had initially thought. She could only be a couple of years older than Evelyn herself, "We've got plenty of those."

The two guards pulled back a plastic curtain to reveal a hallway lined with dead bodies that had been covered with sheets out of respect. Despite the mask that covered her mouth, Evelyn could catch onto the smell from the bodies. The small of blood attacked her senses; for a split second, she felt the frozen air of the 68th arena until her brother gently nudged her forward.

"We have a mass grave a few blocks west but I can't spare the manpower to move them yet," Paylor informed them as she directed them through the bodies as if it was a normal occurrence to see this many deceased, her own people nonetheless, "The hospital is past that curtain. Any hope that you could give them, it's worth it. The Capitol has done everything that they can to break us."

"Aren't you worried about having all your wounded in one place?" Gale asked, his voice bringing Evelyn back into the conversation and away ar staring at the piles of blood and flies buzzing around the bodies.

"I think it's better than leaving them to die."

"That's not what I meant-" Gale tried but Paylor cut him off.

"Well, it's my only other option," the woman informed them knowingly, she didn't feel the need to face them as they talked, "If you can come up with a better solution, I'm all ears. It's right through here."

Commander Paylor pulled back another plastic curtain to reveal what Evelyn had least expected, her heart-shattering at the sight of all the wounded that lined the room and chatted discreetly between them as if scared to talk above a whisper. It wasn't just the men that had been hurt, it was the women, the children and the elderly too.

It made her furious.

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part two is so long